The Mommy
by Tensleep
Summary: Darry's been acting strange lately. August '08 WSOTT Rumble response. Second Chapter Added!
1. Chapter 1

Another WSOTT prompt. This was for the "And in Walked Weird" prompt back in August of '08 where you were supposed to write an OOC story. On purpose. Yeah, really behind on posting this. I was scrambling to go on a trip when I wrote this, but it did get beta'd, believe it or not. So special thanks to Zickachik for that!

Disclaimer: The usual

The Mommy  
By Tensleep

Some days I look at my big brother and wonder what we did to him. Don't get me wrong; it's not like Pony and I tied him down and gave him a makeover or anything, but we're still responsible. Darry was always strong and muscled and really scary when we wanted to be, but lately…I dunno. Take breakfast, for example…

"Soda! Eggs are ready!"

The eggs may have been ready, but I was having a slow morning and didn't know if I was ready to even eat. I figured the jam would perk me up and there was cake with the icing I made myself, so there was that. By the time breakfast was over and I was showered, I'd be more awake. Pony had nabbed the shower first this morning, so my usual routine was thrown off.

"Coming," I hollered back, rubbing a hand through my hair.

It was another five minutes before I padded into the kitchen and paused in the doorway. Darry was standing at the stove in one of Mom's pink aprons. He'd taken to doing that lately, saying it kept his clothes cleaner for work or something. I always wondered who he was trying to impress with clean clothes at a construction or roofing site. He always denied it, so I always let it drop.

This morning, I shook my head and slumped down into my chair at the table. Darry put a pile of eggs on my plate a moment later, wearing the checked oven mitts Mom had made from scratch. I blinked. Darry didn't usually bother with more than a potholder.

"There's some jam in the fridge and some cake, if you want it," he added, putting the pan back on the stove.

I yawned, but got up for it anyway. I was right about the jam and the icing. As I sat there letting the sugar go through me, I wasn't all that surprised to feel a little more awake. Darry was still at the stove, humming to himself. He finally tutted and smacked the pan scraper down hard on the counter.

"Ponyboy! You hurry up or you won't get to school on time!" Darry hollered.

"He's got time," I pointed out and received a sigh from my eldest brother.

"Not if he wants a decent breakfast," Darry replied.

I glanced at the cake and wanted to ask what Darry meant by 'decent' but let that go, too. I was learning that was the best thing to do when Darry was in one of these moods.

A minute later, Ponyboy came into the kitchen with his hair still sopping wet and his clothes barely on him they were so messy. Darry really tutted loudly there and took off the oven mitts.

"Do you plan on going to school looking like that?" He asked and Pony shrugged. "C'mere."

I watched as Darry straightened Pony's shirt and fixed the collar on it by sharply pinching the fabric. He even dusted off Pony's shoulders with little flicks of his hands. Ponyboy frowned and glanced over at me, but all I could do was shrug. Finally, after combing out his hair with his fingers, Darry let Pony sit down. Darry turned back to the stove and had a plate in front of Pony a moment later. Pony tilted his head a little as he looked at it and I couldn't help leaning over the table a bit to see, too. Darry had made the eggs into eyes with a bacon strip as a mouth and toast as hair or maybe ears – I wasn't too sure. It was the creepiest breakfast I'd ever seen, though.

"Now, you've gotta eat up, honey. Two-Bit is just swinging by this morning. I packed you a lunch and I expect you to eat it. No more of that junk food from the DX. Soda, you too."

I blinked up at Darry. I'd learned not to argue and just eat whatever I wanted, but Pony was a different story.

"C'mon, Darry. We end up over there, anyways, and this way Jack doesn't chase us off for not being customers."

"Ponyboy, you know just as well as I do that Jack wouldn't do that. He'd probably feel better if he saw you eating things you couldn't lift from that store," Darry replied, sitting down with his coffee and his bacon and tomato sandwich.

I watched as he held the coffee with both hands in the same dainty way that my second grade teacher used to. He shifted so his legs were crossed under the table and took a slow sip of the coffee.

"So, I have to work late tonight. There's left over casserole and carrots in the fridge. I expect you to eat them," Darry informed us. "Mrs. Casson from down the street is going to be dropping off her recipe for pecan pie at some point. Be polite and help her up and down the stairs – she doesn't move so well since she broke her hip last fall, the poor dear."

"The same Mrs. Casson who throws cans at us when we walk past her house?" Pony asked, looking like he'd like nothing better than to trip 'the poor dear'.

"Well, you don't just walk by her house, y'all tromp through like you're a herd of elephants," Darry scolded. "Now, hurry and get ready. Your math homework is on the table. Sodapop, you still need to shower before Steve gets here."

"Yeah, I know." I nodded.

"Well, perhaps you should get on that. I swear, every time that boy gets here, he has to wait ten whole minutes for you to get your act together."

I rolled my eyes, but got up to put my empty plate in the sink anyways. I turned to go and do what Darry wanted when he let out a pointed 'ah-hem?'

"C'mon, Darry. I'll wash it later," I sighed.

"When? While you're at work? Or how about when you're out with Steve making trouble while I slave away to make sure Ponyboy has enough food to eat?"

Darry was looking serious, so I picked up the plate and the dishcloth, hastily scrubbing it so it looked somewhat clean. Darry levelled me with a hard look and I groaned, turning back to work on it some more. I even added soap this time. Darry let me pass when I was done and I couldn't wait to just jump in the shower.

When I got out, there was a towel neatly folded and fresh from the dryer on the toilet seat. I wrapped it around myself, wondering when privacy went right out the window in this house. I snorted. Yeah, because privacy was the biggest issue we were dealing with right about now.

When I was dressed, Steve was standing in the doorway, getting the lecture of all time from Darry. I frowned at him and he rolled his eyes, glaring at Darry.

"Who cares if my shoes are dirty? Ain't like that ever mattered before," Steve drawled and Darry crossed his arms over his chest.

"It has always mattered, Steven. You just never seem to appreciate all the hard work that goes into running a household."

Steve blinked, but Darry seemed to be done with the conversation. He stalked back out of the room and into the kitchen. I glanced after him, seeing him rather forcefully dry the dishes. I shook my head and glanced over at where Steve was glaring after Darry.

"You know, I think I liked him better when he was trying to break my jaw," he commented.

"Well, just try to remember to take off your shoes from now on. And don't put your elbows on the table," I added, rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head from dinner the night before.

"Since when did Darry become such a…" Steve was at a loss for words.

"Mom?" I supplied and he nodded.

"I was gonna say wife, but yeah."

"I don't know, man." I shrugged.

"Well, it's creepy," Steve pointed out and I nodded.

"Sure is."

"Hey, you think he'll start baking cookies at some point?" Steve asked and I shook my head.

"Don't put ideas in his head. He's already scaring Pony enough."

Steve snorted, but didn't get into another speech on 'Poor Precious Pony'.

"Well, look at it this way. Nothing'll scare the kid in the future."

I did laugh then. If there was one thing I could say for this messed up situation, it made the rest of the world look a lot saner. I just hoped everything did work itself out. But for now, I could deal with things the way they were, because hey, when was the last time a guy like me actually got mothered by his tougher older brother? And if a picture of Darry in that pink apron and those checked mitts were to survive this phase…

I grinned and Steve half smiled, waiting for me to fill him in on my great idea.

"Hey Steve? Do you still have that old camera?"

* * *

I had grand plans for adding to this one, but so far nothing. We'll see what summer brings.

Any comments at all are welcome and flames accepted.

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens & Zickachik


	2. Chapter 2

Well, thanks to my life, things have been stalled on the updating bit. But this came to me, and I wrote it instead of my paper on Critical Thinking... *whistles innocently*

Anyways, this one goes out to Alsonny who practically glomped me from a thousand miles away when she heard I was writing more of it. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Usual.

Soda's POV

Now, after dealing with Darry and his changed attitude, I didn't think there was any way it could possibly get worse. But then, I was never the smart one in the family.

Take last night, for example. Darry followed his usual routine after work. He came home, fixed dinner in that checked apron, and then make sure Pony did his homework, before settling down to deal with the bills and read the paper.

So once I saw the paper come out, I thought it would be a quiet night. As it turned out, that was just the start of the weirdest thing yet.

I was idly flipping through the same magazine that had been on the table since last month, when Darry folded the paper and set it down. I knew he wasn't nearly done with it, but I didn't pay it any mind. It wasn't until I heard the strange clicking noise that I looked up and couldn't help blinking.

"Um...Darry?" I asked. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Darry replied, not looking up from his work.

"Well, it looks like you're...knitting."

Darry did glance up then, an even look on his face. "That is exactly what I'm doing."

"Why?" I asked blankly, thinking that was the big question right then.

Darry's look darkened a bit and he went back to the knitting. "Because Ponyboy can't use his head."

Now, this was another part of Darry's recent...change. He seemed to get rather uppity about some things, especially when it had to do with Pony's forgetfulness. I normally told him to lay off because Pony was doing the best he could, but recently, I never knew what to do with Darry, so I didn't know what to say.

"So you're knitting him something?" I chanced, hoping that was where this conversation was going.

"I have to. He went and lost his hat and mittens. And I refuse to buy him another set."

I blinked, not all that surprised that his hat and mittens were gone. Darry had sent him out in his hat, mittens, and scarf last week because it had been cold out. However, it really wasn't tuff for a Greaser to show up at school with mittens on a string that matched his hat and scarf.

"So you're knitting him a set?" I asked doubtfully.

Darry sent me another look and I ducked my head then. Yeah, it had been a dumb question.

"Well, that's nice of you," I offered.

Darry huffed a little. "If he loses this set, I don't care if both his ears and all his fingers fall off."

That was harsh, but losing things was one of those issues Darry did get uppity about these days. As I watched Darry knit, I was rather amazed. I hadn't known he knew how to knit.

"Where did you learn how to knit?" I asked, unable to just wonder on my own.

"I took a class on it in my senior year."

I recalled something about Darry taking Home Economics in his last year at school so he could fill his credits. I just never thought he'd actually learned something. But that was Darry for you – he never tried anything without mastering it.

Darry set his knitting down and reached over beside the chair for a book with some thin papers sticking through. He opened it up and showed me something with a sweater shaped print on it.

"Now, see, hats and mittens are pretty easy, but it's something like this that has the different parts to be put together. You have to actually knit the collar for something like this on a round shaper before you switch the knit for the body of the shirt."

I had a sinking feeling in my gut when he started explaining how to make one of those.

"You're not going to actually knit one of those, are you?"

"Of course I am. You and Pony both need decent clothes for the winter."

So far I'd been lucky. Most of Darry's weirder moments had been forced on Pony and I'd been completely left out. I knew I wasn't going to be so lucky with this whole sweater thing.

"I'm thinking straight red for Pony, but maybe a blue for you. Or green. We'll go yarn shopping this weekend and see which ones are cheapest and least likely to stain."

"Oh boy...yarn shopping."

"Yes, and maybe we'll find some nice patterns while we're there and I can make you both Christmas sweaters for the holidays."

I kept my mouth shut and watched as Darry picked up the knitting again, deftly moving his fingers to loop the fabric again and again. It was rather...hypnotic. I shook my head and got up for a glass of chocolate milk, figuring if I sat there any longer, I was going to fall asleep watching him.

It only took me a minute to pour a glass of milk. And since this new Darry was a bit of a baking nut, I helped myself to a cookie while I was at it. Most people thought I cooked odd things, but I was sure this white chocolate nut cookie shaped like a heart was much weirder than my blue chicken with green mashed potatoes. I had to give him credit because the cookies tasted nice, you just didn't sound very tuff when you tried to explain what you were eating.

"Ponyboy!" Darry hollered. "Come on out here for a minute."

"I'm busy," Pony hollered back.

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis. I am going to count to three."

There was silence for a long moment, and clearly Ponyboy was pushing it.

"One."

That was all it took for the shuffle of feet down the hall and into the living room.

I took another thoughtful bite of my cookie before I dared go back in. When I did, Pony was standing in front of Darry with one sour look on his face. I couldn't blame him. He had both hands held out in front of him, two half completed red mittens pulled around his hands for size, as Darry inspected his handy work. Personally, I was impressed he could knit that fast. Or maybe he had been working on them before tonight. A huge part of me never wanted to know.

"Darry, I don't want mittens. I'll be fine without them," Pony tried, only earning a 'tut' from our brother. "Come on, Darry – mittens are for kids!"

"Mittens are for anyone with hands they want to keep warm. Now, don't fidget," Darry replied, jotting something down on a piece of paper.

"I'm just going to lose them again," Pony warned, earning a stern look from Darry.

"You think so?"

Pony sent him a wide-eyed look. The last time Darry said that was when Pony was pushing his curfew a few months ago. They'd gotten into a spat and Pony had said he would just stay out as late as he wanted, regardless of what Darry dictated. Needless to say, Darry got his way, and Pony ended up with his nose to the corner for a while, on top of a good grounding.

I didn't want to know what Darry would do if Pony lost this set of mittens. Darry might just knit them around his hands or something to teach him a lesson.

"I'll...try not to lose them," Pony replied slowly, earning a nod from our brother.

"That sounds like a smart plan," Darry praised, slipping the half formed mittens back off. "Now, go on and get back to your homework. I expect you finished with it and ready for bed by ten."

Ten was Pony's bedtime, but he had been getting away with eleven for a while now. Darry didn't seem to notice the indignant look on our baby brother's face as he placidly picked up his knitting again.

"But Darry –"

"Nine fifty-five," Darry countered smoothly, not breaking his rhythm.

"Pony," I sighed, hoping he would just drop it.

"Fine," Pony huffed, making his way right back to the bedroom.

I sighed, finishing off the cookie and carefully brushing off my fingers, before making my way back to where I had been sitting earlier. Darry looked up at me for a moment, a small frown on his face. I had a really bad feeling about that.

"When was the last time you bathed?" he asked.

"I showered this morning, Dare," I replied, offering him a small smile because I was kind of confused about where this was going. "Just like I do every morning."

"I don't mean standing under the water and running a bit of soap through your hair," he clarified. "When was the last time you actually sat in the tub and scrubbed off all that grime?"

And that was how I ended up sitting in a bath tub full of soap suds, the scrub brush in one hand, and a bar of soap in the other. I could still hear Darry clicking away at his knitting down the hall between the rasp of the brush on my skin, and the sloshing of the bathwater as I manoeuvred to get at every part.

I was really working on the sole of my right foot when the door opened, and Pony slipped inside.

"Pony!" I hissed, pulling a towel over anything I didn't want to be seen. "What are you doing? Please don't tell me we're supposed to share the tub..."

Mom used to have us do that when we were really small. I really hoped Darry didn't get the urge to try it out, or he'd have a fight on his hands from both of us.

"What?" Pony frowned. "No, thank god."

"Then what're you doing in here?"

"We need to talk about..." he trailed off, thumbing at the closed door.

"What, Super Mommy?" I sighed, using Two-Bit's new nickname for Darry. "I don't know what to tell you there, kiddo. I keep hoping it's a phase."

"A phase is when you grow out of something. Darry is growing _into_ it!" Pony growled a little, leaning against the door. "First it was just the apron, and the straightening, and the baby vegetables. Now, he's making food in the shape of hearts! He's cutting up my meat before he lets me eat it! Heck, he's even started sewing my initials into my underwear!"

I blinked a little, suddenly wondering if my initials were in my underwear...

"I still don't know what to tell you," I told him again.

"It just isn't fair. I mean, it's like we're in _The Twilight Zone_ or something."

"Don't let him find out you watch that," I advised, remembering just last week Darry had lectured Johnny on how it wasn't real, but that it would give him nightmares. I kind of understood where he was coming from – Johnny didn't need anything else keeping him up at night.

"All I'm saying is that if things get any crazier around here, I'm going to go live with Dallas."

Dallas hadn't been around lately. The last time he was by, Darry had insisted Dallas take off his shirt so Darry could bleach the stains out of it and give it a good ironing. That hadn't gone over too well, and things had escalated from there, until Dallas eventually stormed off, declaring he was going to be at Buck's until Darry was back to normal.

"It'll get better, Pony. You'll see," I assured him, glancing at my pruned fingers.

"I'm not going to hold my breath," Pony replied with a scowl, clearly not happy with my lack of answers.

"Soda?" Darry called. "Are you done yet?"

"Almost," I hollered back, sloshing the water a bit as I dug around for the scrub brush once more.

"Well, less playing, more scrubbing! You'll turn into a frog if you stay in there much longer. And Pony still needs a bath!"

Pony rolled his eyes. Obviously, he was next for the scrubbing lecture.

"Ok, Darry," I called.

"Pony? Are you done your homework?"

"No, not yet!" Pony hollered back.

"Well, leave Soda alone and get back to it!"

Pony looked at me wide-eyed and I shrugged. Darry was getting those eyes in the back of his head that our mother had always prided herself on. She could tell exactly where you were and what you were up to without ever leaving the stove.

So Pony didn't argue or complain. He just left, closing the door behind him so I could finish scrubbing off. My skin was pink when I finally did climb out and into a pair of shorts and a dark t-shirt. When I finally opened the door, Pony brushed past me, only waiting until I was out of the room before closing the door sharply.

I jumped a little and shook my head before heading into the bedroom. I was tired after the bath and figured to lie down until Pony was done with his bath so we could have a talk before he went to sleep. The funny thing is, when you try to stay awake, that's when you often end up falling to sleep. I was barely aware of Pony crawling into bed, and the light was turned out. I figured it wasn't too important to wait until tomorrow and started to drift off again.

"Darry! I am not a little kid!" Pony hissed and I groaned a little.

"Fine, fine," Darry placated in a low voice, moving around the room.

I cracked an eye open when I felt the blankets being drawn up over my shoulder. Darry was leaning in close and it occurred to me that he was tucking me in. Had I been more awake, I would have laughed.

"Sleep tight."

I mumbled something back at Darry, more than willing to do just that. This "Mommy Darry" bit may have been a bit hard to deal with most of the time, but there was the odd moment when it was alright to be mommied...just a little.

* * *

Well, that was fun!

Any comments at all are welcome, and flames are accepted.

See ya in the funny papers!

Tens


End file.
